Longing
by lady orheal
Summary: my first Sephiroth x Tifa fic...enjoy. nn oneshot


He loved watching her sleep…

Naturally, he loved watching over her during her waking hours too…_and too frequent at that_…but there was just something about her slumbering form, utterly oblivious to the world, that called out to him…And hers was a call he never could ignore…

Not that he would ever want to…

So here he was once more…sitting at the edge of her bed just as he had countless nights…keeping silent vigil over the one woman who unwittingly held the key to his dark heart…

His eyes missed nothing as he looked at her…Neither the slight twitching of her eyes, signaling her entrance into the Land of Dreams…nor the tiny speck of tears that had gathered at the corner of her eyes due to a tired yawn, escaped his notice…The gentle rise and fall of her chest…and the soft whispering sound of her breathing were steady and hypnotic…Not for the first time, he found himself matching the rhythm of her breaths with his own…finding a small shred of peace in being able to share something…even something so trivial as a breathing pattern, with the one who seemed to be slipping farther and farther away from him each passing day…

He watched silently…feeling a stabbing pain in his chest…as the woman curled up onto her side, her arms pulling at the bed coverings so that she might hold them to her as one might hold a lover…No doubt it was Strife she embraced in her dreams…

What wouldn't he give to be the one she desired to take into her warm and loving arms, even if only in a dream? What wouldn't he give to have those sheets tangled around her strong, slender legs by the smooth silk of red and black gracing his won bed? What wouldn't he give…?

Nothing…

"I am a fool…" he uttered softly…full of self-loathing, cursing himself of the revelation he just unraveled within him…He is the one-winged angel, 'son' of the mysterious Jenova, to which he swore he'd destroy the planet…an enemy…

Would he risk turning his back on that vow and claim all consequences for just a woman?

He would…hell…he would turn his back on everything he believed in and forsake hell in an instant if he thought for one moment that such actions might win the heart of the one who calls herself Tifa Lockheart…

A fool…that's what he was…For years, he had neglected his own wants and desires…playing the ever feared and cold-hearted angel that the planet knew him to be…and that which Jenova expected him to be…But suddenly it was becoming next to impossible to do what was expected of him…Suddenly, he found the one thing he wanted to hang on to…To hell with the consequences…The woman loved another…But a sinister voice inside whispered that it didn't matter…He is the Sephiroth…feared by all…even Jenova herself feared him…It was certainly in his power to dispose of all competition and command the woman to accept him as his own…

A slight movement drew his attention from his dark musings…He felt a soft hand land on his own…He stared at the object of his desires…His intense emerald-mako eyes held a certain tenderness when he saw that his lady was still asleep…

Beyond the tanned skin, well-toned body and beautiful angelic face of hers…and the peace that engulfed her sleeping form…she was an intriguing specimen…simply breath-taking…

…and beautiful.

No matter how he longed to have her…to be able to claim her as his and his alone…he knew he would never be able to force his affections upon her…She would loathe him…and he, in turn, would hate himself…It would kill him to cause her pain…

His fingers reached out to brush them against the softness of her cheek in a bittersweet caress…It was time to put an end to this madness…It was time to stop pinning away for the love she couldn't give and he wouldn't take…it was time to let her go…

Pain pierced him like the buster sword to the heart of his decision…but he braced himself against it…resolved to do what he came to do…To release her from his heart…

He sighed quietly…turning himself back into the cold-hearted ex-Shinra-general that he is…but not faltering his gentleness and care towards the rose beside him, he gently bent down towards the hand on his…giving it a gentle brush with his lips…The he leaned down towards her face until he could feel the warmth of her breath…his lips then hovered just above hers…and whispered three simple words…_goodbye, my angel_…and kissed her gently…tasting the sweet strawberries on her lips one last time…so soft and swift that it could hardly be considered a kiss at all…But it was a kiss that would remain with him, nonetheless…

And then he was on his feet gently pulling his hand away from hers and walked towards the bedroom window…Finally, he was out of the room…

A soft cool breeze blew within her room…she opened her tired eyes as she saw that the curtains of her window were flapping gently against the breeze…she slowly stood up and gently closed the window…As she did so, she noticed the large moon outside, shining on her…Showering her with the gentle rays of light it emitted…Smiling minutely, she eased a yawn that escaped her lips all the while rubbing her eyes gently…Turning back towards her room, she got back in her bed and instantly fell asleep…

…unaware of the emerald eyes watching from afar…his long silver hair danced against the wind…a scent of wild roses lingered a while…

* * *

my first ever Sephiroth x Tifa fic...

review please. nn

DISCLAIMER: don't own FF7


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